A quick glance at this and you’ll see a brief overview of the pro’s and con’s of red meat. Zinc, iron, protein, speculated weight loss, and B vitamins are all excellent examples of the benefit of red meat. On the opposite scale, mind you; bowel cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, bones structure loss, Arthritis, high cholesterol, food poisoning, and breast cancer. Now this may not encompass white meats, but the average person eats much more red meat than white meat. Now, using this nifty little calculator, I figured out how much zinc my body actually needs. Using this, my body has roughly 2.32221 grams. Zinc deficient plants exhibit delayed maturity, therefore, all plants need zinc. By this logic, zinc isn’t all that hard to find in a vegan diet. Vegetarians tend to have lower iron stores than meat-eaters. This is because haem iron is more readily absorbed than non-haem iron. Although vegetarians have lower iron stores, adverse health effects have never been demonstrated with varied vegetarian diets in developed countries. As a major constituent of the diet, protein serves as the foundations for health, repair and replenishment, the other two macronutrients being carbohydrates and fat. Anything that grows contains protein. Nothing can grow without protein, which forms the basic building blocks of life. A cup of broccoli, which is about 40 grams contains about 1.3 grams of protein. The average drumstick of chicken contains 11 grams. It’s a well known fact that vegans have trouble with b-12, and b-12 is an important part of your diet. While yes, you do get b-12 mostly from meat, there are plenty of plants that have it too, you just need to eat more of them. On a well planned diet there is no reason to eat meat.
A Quick Article by Joe Downie
“How do I make sure to get enough protein?” is a common question for vegetarians. Protein is important because it helps your body grow and recover from injury or illness.
Protein comes from animal and plant sources and is made up of amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids. The body itself can produce 11 of them, while the other nine are considered “essential” amino acids and must be absorbed from food. Even though meat is a great and easy way to obtain protein, you can incorporate all nine “essential” amino acids into your diet without eating any meat.
To do this, it’s important to eat a variety of whole grains, veggies, beans, soy, legumes, seeds and nuts to make sure you absorb all the essential amino acids. Some foods are lower in one amino acid, while others might be higher. Consuming all the essential amino acids in a single meal isn’t necessary. As long as you eat a variety of foods on a regular basis, they will combine to make complete proteins.
There are several advantages to eating a vegetarian diet:
* You eat less cholesterol – there is no cholesterol in plant foods.
* You will eat more fiber, which helps reduce the risks of bowel diseases.
* You usually don’t exceed your calorie limit.
Your body only requires that 12 - 15 % of your calories come from protein. Storing protein is not possible and your body gets rid of any excess. Too much protein can actually be unhealthy. There is nothing to be concerned about when it comes to vegetarians getting adequate protein. Variety is key!”
The only argument I present against dairy is that humans are the only species that not only drinks milk past infancy, but we are also the only species that drinks milk from other species. Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. Dairy is high in fat, which can be good for the body, unless it’s saturated fat, which most of the fat in dairy is. Almost all packaged milk is high in pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones. Dairy products contain lactose, a type of milk-sugar that many people have difficulty digesting. That’s where the term “lactose intolerance” comes from. Humans were not meant to ingest this sugar. Period.
As for vitamin D, it’s not even really a vitamin as much as it is a hormone. A hormone created when sunlight hits the skin. The end. Once you have a varied diet, the only thing you’ll have to worry about is following your rigid diet, which when you look at the benefits of, shouldn’t be hard at all.
Being a vegan can mean a diet of less fat and less chemicals. According to the American Dietetic Association, “Vegetarian plans tend to result in lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer. Vegetarians also tend to have lower body mass indexes and cholesterol levels.” The ADA also said vegetarians are 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease, and they have a 40 percent lower cancer rate of meat-eaters. Meat-eaters are nine times more likely to be obese than vegans. Vegetarians and vegans live, on average, six to 10 years longer than meat-eaters, and as an added bonus, you are always the center of attention when eating with a group of people.
Sorry kids, the food pyramid lied. The kicker? Vegetarians have stronger immune systems than meat-eaters, which means they won’t need vaccinations.
